The present disclosure relates generally to a method and apparatus for manipulating the content of an image. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus which detects a target area in one or more regions of an image, and which may replace the target area with alternate content. In some examples, the present disclosure relates to a dynamic image content replacement method and apparatus suitable for use with live television broadcasts.
In the related art, one or more target areas within a video image feed are defined and then replaced with alternate images appropriate to specific viewer groups or geographical regions. For example, billboards at a ground or arena of a major sporting event are observed as part of a television broadcast, and these target areas are electronically substituted by alternate images that are more appropriate for a particular country or region. In particular, such a system is useful to create multiple television feeds each having different electronically generated advertisement content which is tailored according to an intended audience (e.g. a billboard in the original images is modified to carry advert 1 for country 1, while advert 2 is added for region 2, and so on).
There is a difficulty in dynamically modifying the video image signals in a way which is accurate and photo-realistic for the viewer. Considering the related art, there is still a difficulty in providing a reliable and effective mechanism for defining a target area within a video image where content is to be replaced. Further, there is a need to improve a photorealistic impression of the altered images, so that ordinary viewers will not notice that image content replacement has taken place.
A particular difficulty arises in relation to images which contain fine details, such as a goal net in a football (soccer) match. These fine details are particularly difficult to handle accurately and consistently when inserting alternate content. That is, when appropriate cameras and detectors capture a scene of interest, these finely detailed elements may be poorly defined in some shots, such as a wide-angle or distance shots. A content replacement system may then insert alternate content without accurately representing these finely detailed elements. As a result, an alternate video feed may be less than ideal and the desired photo-realistic effect may not be achieved in some circumstances. Therefore, there is a desired to improve the visual appearance of images which are produced when inserting alternate content into a video image stream.
It is now desired to provide an apparatus and method which will address these, or other, limitations of the current art, as will be appreciated from the discussion and description herein.